Electrical connectors provide signal connections between electronic devices. Often, the signal connections are so closely spaced that undesirable cross talk occurs between nearby signals. That is, one signal induces electrical interference to a nearby signal. With electronic device miniaturization and high speed electronic communications becoming more prevalent, cross talk becomes a significant factor in connector design. In order to reduce cross talk between signals, it is known to provide grounding connection pins in such connectors. However, as communication speeds increase, wider signal conductors are typically used. With such wider signal conductors and conventional grounding, it becomes difficult to provide both high signal contact pin density and acceptable cross talk levels.
Therefore, a need exists for electrical connectors for high speed communications having a high density of signal contact pins and acceptable cross talk levels.